Bajan

Bajan is the creole of Barbados, and it sits closer to standard English than the creoles of Jamaica or the Windwards, largely because the island was English for its entire colonial history with no French or Spanish period. That closeness is deceptive: the grammar is creole underneath, with distinctive tense and aspect marking, and at speed with unfamiliar vocabulary a visitor catches very little. Speech switches constantly between Bajan and standard English depending on who is being addressed. The rhythm is the giveaway, with a rise at the end of statements that visitors often mistake for questions.

What you actually see

• The switching - between Bajan and standard English, mid-conversation.
• The rhythm - the rising intonation that marks it out.
• Bajan proverbs - a large body of them, still in daily use.
• Written Bajan - in poetry, calypso lyrics and local newspapers.

When to go

Year-round. Crop Over calypso lyrics are the most concentrated written and sung Bajan a visitor is likely to meet. Radio call-in programmes are the other reliable source.

Honest expectations

It is a creole with its own grammar rather than accented English, and treating it as the latter gives offence. Visitors attempting it usually sound like mockery; listening is better received. Speed and vocabulary in ordinary conversation defeat most visitors even though the words look familiar.

Nearby

Heard everywhere; markets, rum shops and radio are the densest exposure.